Home shopping gives Romanov his first bargain

The attacking midfielder was spotted at a training camp held by his previous club FBK Kaunas at the Hearts youth academy at the turn of the year. At the time John Robertson, the Hearts coach, said the Lithuanian internationalist would be a valuable long-term asset but expected him to take time to settle.

As it turned, out injuries to Patrick Kisnorbo, Michael Stewart and Phil Stamp allowed the fresh-faced 19-year-old to be catapulted up the pecking order and into the first team.

He made his debut against Livingston just three weeks ago where he showed his versatility by playing wide on the left, but since then has reverted to his more favoured right side. He has good feet and has shown he has the stamina to track back despite giving the impression that he is crying out to play an old-fashioned winger's role.

Mikoliunas has already been capped six times for his country and his arrival at Tynecastle is the first evidence on the pitch of Vladimir Romanov's influence at the club. The club's biggest single shareholder, helped bankroll the deal to bring the player from Lithuania.

Romanov has seen an almost instant return on his investment and was in the stands for the match against Kilmarnock on Saturday when Mikoliunas scored his first goal for Hearts.

Although he possesses a slight frame and lacks top-level experience he has already won major trophies back in Lithuania and was a key performer as Kaunas won the league and cup double last season.

He played for his country in last year's world cup games against Spain and Belgium and also gained experience in Europe when he took part in Kaunas' matches against the Maltese side Sliema Wanderers and the Swedish outfit Djurgårdens in the Champions League qualifying rounds.

However, the Lithuanian football season ended last November and Mikoliunas had not played a competitive game this year until he made his debut against Livingston. That suggests there is more to come from him and the more games he plays the better he will get.

"It is not a problem for me which side of the pitch I play on and the more I play, the better it will be for me," said Mikoliunas when he signed for Hearts. "Football in Lithuania has been on a winter break so I am just trying to build up my fitness again."

His running caused Kilmarnock all sorts of problems last Saturday and his link-up play with Lee Miller helped unlock the visitors' defence on several occasions.

"We have had a good understanding and I am enjoying my football and because of that my confidence is high," said Miller, who is on loan from Bristol City. "I have scored in the last two games against Kilmarnock and hope to make it three times in a row tonight."

Miller, who Robertson hopes will stay at the club beyond his loan period, has played in both the English FA Cup and the Scottish Cup this season. He was part of the Bristol City team which lost 4-3 on penalties to Brentford and was one of the players who missed a crucial spot kick.

"It was 1-1 at the end of the game and I hit a poor penalty which the goalkeeper saved," said Miller. "In saying that, if I have to take one under the same circumstances tonight at Rugby Park, I'll hit it."

Kilmarnock will be hoping to keep their season alive with a win but after their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Hearts last Saturday the omens are not good. The first Scottish Cup game between the two ended in a 2-2 draw and Jim Jefferies, the Kilmarnock manager, will be hoping his vast experience inspires his side to victory.

Taken from the Herald